A West Virginia mother who was reported missing earlier this week has been found and arrested on grand larceny charges out of Virginia, the latest twist in a bizarre case.
Raleigh County Sheriff Scott Van Meter confirmed to Fox News late Friday that his officers arrested 32-year-old Mary Cathleen Haley at an apartment in Beckley, approximately 60 miles southeast of Charleston. The sheriff previously told Fox News that Haley was indicted by a grand jury in Smyth County, Va. for alleged larceny on Dec. 10.
On Dec. 11, Haley’s estranged husband, William Scott, turned himself in to the Wythe County Sheriff’s Office on Dec. 11 in response to a warrant issued two days earlier stemming from a class 1 misdemeanor charge. Scott was reportedly released on a personal recognizance bond and is due back in court Jan. 7. During a hearing, Scott told a Virginia magistrate that he had not seen his wife in months. Family members say the couple separated in August.
Haley was last seen sometime before Dec. 13. Facebook messages viewed by Fox News allegedly showed that Haley had reached out to a fellow member of a domestic violence support group, Krissy Musallam, at 2:28 p.m. that day and declared that she had been “beaten pretty bad” by Scott a week earlier. She also sent two selfies showing her with black eyes.
Musallam then advised her to go to a domestic-violence shelter and Haley expressed frustration that officials were not taking her abuse allegations seriously. Musallam told Fox News she grew concerned when she did not hear any more from Haley and got no response to an earlier message on Saturday.
Facebook messages allegedly show that Haley had reached out to a fellow member of a domestic violence support group, Krissy Musallam, declaring that she had been “beaten pretty bad” by her estranged husband a week earlier.
(Provided Krissy Musallam)
According to messages from Haley’s Facebook Messenger, a response came Saturday at 4:32 p.m., stating that “she is fine” and “she is unstable” and that she was “in bed asleep.”
“She was talking about going swimming, but she can’t swim, so I’m not sure,” the person writing from Haley’s account, who claimed to be “Haley’s best friend, Steven Vaught,” told Musallam.
The messages from Haley’s account went on to say that “her husband is a great police officer,” and she received black eyes because she “fell down steps acting crazy,” More messages said Haley was likely to sleep through the following day after Musallam threatened to send somebody for a “welfare check.”
On Saturday evening, Musallam asked if she was still married, and the response came back that “she always will be now.” Around 8 p.m. that night, the rambling messages from her account insisted that “she fell in the lake” and that she “tried to kill her (sic) self.”
Also Read: Lori Loughlin’s trial still set for October despite coronavirus outbreak, judge says
“Rural Retreat Lake,” the messages continued, referring to a 90-acre impoundment lake in Wythe County, Va. “She fell in…. yes she killed herself. She can’t swim.”
When asked why it was not reported, the response came that “I thought she was k” and “She seemed k she does this.” Later, the messages changed, saying the reasoning was, “I was scared” and “I can’t talk any more mam she is okay,” and “She slipped. I’m sure she’s fine.”
The ramblings continued from her account, with the person on the other end declaring that “I thought I should check her messages” and claiming Haley “lied a lot” and was telling people “things that was private.” The individual also expressed being upset that Haley “owned some businesses she wouldn’t put my name on.”
“She never made me happy,” another message went on “She was talking to some man.”
The messages flipped to the person on the other end, claiming to “still work for the state police,” that they were “just sitting here waiting.”
On Sunday, Dec.15, the conversation with Musallam ended, she said, and there was no further response from the account. Musallam told Fox News she then reached out to another associate of Haley’s who also communicated with the missing woman’s Facebook Messenger on Saturday. The messages allegedly coming from her account included, “she’s at peace bro,” “she is where she needs to be,” and “she fell I didn’t kill her,” indicating that her “last words” were the name of her young daughter.
The couple reportedly was married for around 14 months, and the identity of the person using Haley’s Facebook Messenger remained unverified.